Just One Bite »ᴄɵᴍᴘᴌᴇтᴇ«

FORTY-FOUR

FORTY-FOUR

Slipping out of Damon's arms, Ashley looked at Ravin to see if he'd heard it. From his processing face, Ashley guessed not. "Everyone stay where you are, vampyre's and Brotherhood, outside to stand on guard, Ravin, with me?"

Ravin gave her nod. "What did you hear?" he asked, sensing that she was keeping something from them.

Ashley didn't answer, not wanting to alert Damon. But before she could get to far, Damon's hand gripped her wrist. Turning to look at him, Ashley saw fear on his face.

"Stop Ashley," he said, just above a whisper. "You've only just woken. And already you've fought to keep us safe and figured out things we hadn't thought of. Just stop for a moment."

"I promise to stop after I've done this last thing," Ashley replied, surprising herself and him as she moved to press her lips against his. Pulling away from his scent that lured her in like a candy shop to a child, she kept moving away until Damon finally let her go with a nod, resettling his wings as he did.

Heading for the red walled room where they'd put the humans, Ravin followed close behind.

"How has he been, Ravin?" Ashley asked, meaning the time she'd been unconscious.

"When he woke and realised you were asleep... He slept by you every night," Ravin started, not saying anything about his belief that mates didn't exist. "When Vivian was too scared to help try and wake you, knowing that she was the only thing standing in his way to waking you tore at him. He may not have thought about it, but subconsciously, he wanted to drag Vivian to wake you. He was getting desperate. Not that I could blame the angel. He was housebound by vampyre's and the love of his life was playing Sleeping Beauty."

Ashley smirked over he shoulder. "And how do you know fairy tales?"

"I may have read a few books..."

"But Sleeping Beauty?"

"I lost a bet," he finally admitted.

"To who?"

"Guess?" it came out as a growl.

"Nick?" Ashley asked in surprise. "I didn't think you'd ever make a bet against him."

"He said you'd wake, I'd said the angels would reach us first."

Ashley couldn't help but laugh.

Getting nearer to the door, Ashley paused as she saw Roven and Grey growling quietly at the door.

"Listen Ravin."

"They aren't dead. That's what you heard?"

Ashley nodded as quiet, nowhere near as often as they should be heartbeats filled the quiet space over the growling of the wolves.

"He planned to attack from the inside," Ravin realised first.

Entering the room showed five dead humans. With heartbeats.

Going over to the nearest, which turned out to be Lizzie, Ashley called her ability and felt that, no, she wasn't dead, but, she was dying.

"They're dying," Ashley told Ravin as he crouched next to her.

"So save them."

"They aren't hurt, just... dying."

"So she, who can create a new race, bind creatures who were never meant to be bound to her, can't save a few humans from an angel?"

Ashley sent Ravin the glare he deserved. "It's not that simple. I created them. I created the bonds. I can heal physical wounds. But they aren't any of those, they're just dying."

"What if you changed them?"

Ashley gave Ravin a disgruntled look. "Are you suggesting that I have Lizzie tied to me for a thousand years?"

He raised a brow. "Are you going to let her die?"

"Since when do you care about a human, Ravin?"

Ravin's lips twitched into a smile. "Because you're happiness comes from you're mate's happiness, and these are his friends and the other women is your warriors mate."

"Agreed mates exist have we?" Ashley grinned for the first time since she'd woken.

"No, but the rest of this household does, so for now, I'm willing to call it the love you all share mate."

"You take Lizzie and the males, I'll see to Willow and the stranger and then who ever finished with the transition first will take the last. Agreed?"

Ravin gave her a nod, striking like a snake, biting into Lizzie's flesh.

"Her name is Elizabeth Tyler."

Turning for Willow, Ashley struck, much like Ravin had done to Lizzie. Pulling away once she'd drank enough, the originals spoke at the same time but with different names. "Willow Daye. You are mine."

Biting into their own wrists, the originals pressed their bleeding wrists to the dying females mouths. Once the originals were sure they'd drank enough, they snapped both the females necks.

"Ashley!"

Spinning, both originals surprised at the sound of another person behind them. They bared their fangs in threat. Ashley was the first to calm when she saw Damon.

"What are you doing?!" Damon demanded, coming closer, a look of anger in his silver-blue eyes.

"They were never dead," Ravin replied. "But they were slowly dying. Painfully, most likely, as we're dealing with one of Dtiroya's angels."

There was only silence in response. But Ashley knew that it was her mate's choice. These were his friends. "Death or undead, Damon?" she asked. Needing to know at the three others were close to dying. "Dane's just had his final heartbeat, Damon. I'm saving the unknown female, but whether we kill you're friends or let them live the undead life is up to you."

With that, Ashley brushed past him to reach the unknown female. Biting into the female's neck, Ashley drank deeply. It was as she spoke to bind the female that Damon asked Ravin to change Matt.

  

"You are mine."

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